CHENNAI: A 74-year-old man was beaten to death by a 25-year-old man for refusing to read the place names flashing on the LED board in an MTC bus they were traveling in, near Tambaram on Sunday.Police said the assailant, Amarnath, had boarded the bus on 70-G route (Guduvancheri to Vadapalani) at the Tambaram bus stand. At the Tambaram MEPZ bus stop, Chandrasekharan, 74, got on and sat next to Amarnath.Police quoted other passengers as saying the two started arguing after Amarnath asked Chandrasekharan to read the place names.The elderly man said he couldn’t and told the young man to ask the conductor. Amarnath insisted that Chandrasekaran read the board and the elderly man kept refusing.Hearing the commotion the conductor asked Chandrasekaran to shift his seat. But the moment he tried to get up, Amarnath pulled him down, strangled Chandrasekaran with his bare hands and repeatedly punched him in the face and chest. The elderly man collapsed unconscious.The driver immediately stopped the bus and some passengers took Chandrasekaran in an autorickshaw to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.Amarnath tried to escape, but passengers caught hold of him and bashed him up. The bus was driven to the Chromepet police station and he was handed over to police. Amarnath has been booked for murder and arrested.Police said Amarnath appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A native of Villupuram, he has worked as a mason in Chennai. Chandrasekaran was an electrician from Padappai near Tambaram.
